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Habitat

San Diego County is a critical region for conservation and Mission RCD acts as a local hub for community-based conservation efforts in North San Diego County.  According to The Nature Conservancy, San Diego County shelters approximately 200 imperiled plants and animals, which is more than in any other county in the nation.  Mission RCD leads and supports regional conservation efforts in collaboration with SANDAG, the Wildlife Conservation Board, Caltrans, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation organizations to protect, restore, and maintain the health and beauty of the wildlands in our region.

Our conservation programs are based on Wildlife Conservation Board and NRCS conservation best management practices and centered in equity and inclusion to remove invasive weeds, restore healthy habitats, sequester carbon, and help prevent wildfires.  Mission RCD is developing new natural resource programs and our current programs include:

Removal of invasive weeds.

SANDAG Environmental Mitigation Program 

With funding from SANDAG, Mission RCD successfully in reduced and controlled several non-native, invasive plants in the Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey watersheds. Invasive weeds threaten the viability of watersheds by outcompeting native plants, rerouting and impeding water flow, and providing fuel for wildfires. Mission RCD and our partners removed invasive non-native plants and restored native riparian habitat to improve biodiversity and reduce flood and fire risk.

Pollinators on flowers.

WCB Pollinator Habitat Corridors

Working in collaboration with the San Diego Pollinator Alliance and with funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board, Mission RCD is developing monarch and other pollinator habitat on working lands and in riparian areas. Program areas include revegetation efforts in the Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey watersheds with native riparian flowering plant species to increase and improve pollinator habitat and planting biodiverse habitats on working lands (groves and farms) and on urban and commercial landscapes. Outreach efforts include field days at demonstration sites, workshops and educational resources.

Wildland burned by fire.

NRCS Post Fire Disaster Recovery Assistance Program

Working with the local NRCS office in Escondido, Mission RCD supports post-wildfire habitat restoration to improve the health and productivity of burned lands and reduce the threat of wildland fires. Technical assistance to landowners includes assessing and as possible mitigating wildfire damage, coordinating field assessments, identifying potential Emergency Watershed Protection projects, and providing outreach and education on NRCS programs related to fire resiliency, environmentally sensitive vegetation management, and watershed and wildland health.